Wallet-friendly wine and homemade dessert for Valentine’s Day

For pears:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for the cake pan

5 to 6 ripe but firm pears, such as Bartlett or Anjou, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

For cake:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.  For pears, melt butter in a large skillet and saute the pears until just softened, about 6 minutes.  Set aside.  For cake,  sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and lemon zest.   With a wooden spoon, stir melted butter mixture into dry ingredients and blend until smooth. With a rubber spatula, fold in sauteed pears and their juices. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is browned and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out  clean. Let cool in pan, then invert onto wire rack, and invert again onto a cake plate so that the top faces up. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings            Prep time: 30 minutes            Cook time: 35 minutes

For Macadamia Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or flaked almonds

For filling:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400° F.  For crust, mix flour, melted butter, sugar, and macadamia nuts in a bowl, using your hands or a spatula. Pat on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. For filling, beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the sugar,  egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl with a hand-held mixer until smooth. Pour into the prepared crust. Using the same bowl, toss the apple slices with the pumpkin pie spice, the remaining ¼ cup sugar, and the lemon juice. Attractively arrange apple slices in a circle on top of filling. Pour any juice left from the fruit on top. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.   Remove to a wire rack to cool in pan for 20 minutes, then remove the sides and serve.

Yield: 8 servings            Prep time: 15 minutes            Cook time: 25 minutes